“Tell me, how did you find this place?” asked Bruce.
“I—” He hadn’t found it on his own; he hadn’t even done any research into investing in islands until he met Arnie in a bar on the mainland. It was a simple getaway involving women, drugs, and alcohol. Arnie had spoken of various islands, had told him about this one; that it was a massive bargain.
“Arnie. What is this?”
“Sorry. You were the man we’d been looking for. It took a while. Grandpa was getting on my case.” He nodded toward Bruce.
“Grandpa?”
“I used to run recruitment and conduct trials here, but I need someone of the bloodline to carry on. To be ready for when my time comes.” Bruce patted him on the shoulder. “We wanted you here, Stefan. Your beloved game, that’s what we wanted. As Sebastian said, you performed better than the others. You took it to a new level. An effective level.”
Stefan was shaking his head. He tried to stand again, but his legs were rubber.
“But the dreams, Stefan. The more nights they spend, the worse it gets. The reminder of the pain they had caused others, of the greed. You wanted a Royal Family, Stefan, because I gave you one. I told you the tale. And lucky you, you got to meet them. Well, here they are. Say hi.”
“This isn’t real.” I want to go home.
“Sorry. That can’t happen. You need to be here.” Sebastian said.
Cassidy blew a corrupt kiss his way.
Bruce took a step back, knelt down, and analyzed Stefan’s petrified face. “It’s not personal. It’s a process in need of management.”
“The— The—” His teeth were chattering, his body vibrating, trying to reject his inevitable death. “Those graves…”
“Yes, other travelers. Like I said, we only get buyers that are the right fit for us once in a while. Sometimes mistakes are made.” He glared at Arnie. “Sometimes we aren’t thorough enough. They just want to invest and spend no time here. Invite no one. That’s no good for us. They need to kill just as much as they need to purify. The purification tastes sweeter, and lasts forever.”
“What?”
“This guy isn’t too bright, is he?” Jhett said with a childish chuckle.
Bruce continued, “Erin. She’s been absolved from her past, no longer stained by it. She’s true. She’s good.”
He didn’t want to say the words, but he had to. “And me?”
“Don’t worry. We have a nice spot mapped out for you.” Bruce nodded at the Royal Family, signaling them it was time for something to happen. “No, no, no, no. Wait! Wait! I can help. I can keep working for you. You need someone anyway!”
Bruce looked intrigued, his big mouth tightening on the one side as he mulled it over. “You’re a fine architect. But you wouldn’t have the stomach for the kill.”
He paused and locked eyes with Sebastian.
No, no, no.
“May your past sins vanish with your soul.” He looked at Sebastian. “William.”
“William?”
William smiled. He looked at the others. “James, Anna, Mary.”
They all looked hungry, their appetites about to be satisfied.
“You don’t have to do this. I’ll help you. I can take life. I can do it! I see now. I see what this is. It’s amazing. It’s wonderful. It’s perfect. It’s fucking perfect.”
Sebastian pivoted. The trident plunged into Stefan’s stomach. His flesh tore and his blood spilled. The old revolver point his way and fired through his chest. He couldn’t breathe. The shine of a steel dagger closed in on his neck. An appalling sting was followed by warmth as he choked on his own blood, throat wide open. Gagging on blood and disconnected arteries, knowing it was the end, wishing he was home, wishing it was all just a dream, his eyes lifted in time to see a hatchet blade rise and fall on his head, burying into his skull.
The Royal Family stared at Stefan’s mangled body.
Chapter Thirty-five - Erin
Erin was covered in blood trying to isolate the artery, but it was difficult to see with all of the blood. Using water constantly to wash it away while Ashton kept pressure on her arm, Erin could see that her radial artery wasn’t severed all the way through. Trevor had the first aid kit supplies laid out for her, but she didn’t want to lose sight of it again. Her hands were now calm as she took control. It had been chaos when Skye was swinging her good arm around at them trying to get them to back off. Luckily, Ashton got a hold of her arm and detained her.
Skye was faint and mumbling something, all of the color now gone from her face as the blood drained out of her. Even if I can repair it, she’ll need blood.
Delicate hands were an absolute requirement, though it would ensure no guarantee in the result. The artery had been clipped but not severed completely. She was lucky. Trevor handed her the needle and thread, held a flashlight, and poured water around the exposed artery while Ashton held onto her. He had been consoling her, but she passed out. His eyes lit up with worry, but Erin cut him off. “It’s better she’s out. Check her pulse though. Count the beats in ten seconds.”
He put his finger under her neck. “Six!”
“Shit.”
“Is that not good?”
“How’s the strength?”
“I don’t know. It didn’t feel that strong.”
One deep breath. She asked for a splash of water and immediately followed in after it cleared some away. She fed the needle through the opening and brought it back through the other side that was intact. She pulled it snug and it appeared to hold. “Water again.” The stitch was too bulky and she didn’t trust it would hold, but one more and it may have been too aggressive, causing damage or constricting blood flow. It would have to do for now.
“She needs a blood transfusion. The paramedics. Are they still here?”
“I think they went back on Stefan’s yacht.”
“We need supplies to give her blood. Stefan must have what we need at his place for security purposes, right?”
Trevor didn’t seem to agree.
“I’m not so sure he knows what the hell this is, Trevor. He’s a perfectionist though. He took this business all very seriously. He’d have what we need.”
Ashton was holding her, tears rolling down his face. “She’ll be okay without it though, right?”
She won’t make the two-hour boat ride into land. “She’s tough, but we still need to try, okay?”
He nodded and held her hand gently, looking at her fingertips.
“We need to keep her here. We can’t risk opening that artery again. Lay her down on the bed.” They did as such, and Erin finishing the job stitching up half the wound (to leave some opening if the artery reopened and she needed to work on it) and wrapped it with gauze, then bandages not too thick.
“Ashton, you need to stay with her, keep her calm if she wakes up. Pin her down if you have. Sit on her chest, and keep her other arm away from the bad one.” He wasn’t hearing her. Erin slapped him in the cheek and it made a loud smack. “Ashton. Focus. She’s not right in the head. You squash her if she tries anything. Trevor and I are leaving you to get supplies from Stefan’s, and hopefully boat keys, but one thing at a time. Got it?”
He nodded with understanding this time.
“I need you to say it.”
He struggled for the words at first but managed to spit them out. “Got it.”
She turned to Trevor. “Take that knife she had.”
Erin rushed to the kitchen cupboard and grabbed another knife.
She ran toward Stefan’s bunker with Trevor at her heels. They used the front entrance and it was unlocked.
They tiptoed inside, not wanting to wake up Stefan. She had seen what he was capable of, the cold manipulation, from a tender touch and loving eyes to malice. “Stay with me,” she said to Trevor.